After repulsing the Japanese banzai counterattacks the first night, the whole Marine front shifted back over to offense again. Company L received orders as part of a larger pincer move against Mt. Maga. Once at the mountain they were to continue to the western slope to take out enemy artillery emplacements. Unknown to them, infantry with mortar support also held those positions, leading Lt. Colonel Cambers to send tanks, combat engineers carrying flame-throwers, bazookas, and demolition teams to assist the attack.

Conclusion

Once the combination of all the Marine assets kicked in, Japanese resistance quickly became sporadic. Shortly thereafter the Marines destroyed all three weapon emplacements. By this point in the war the Marines displayed a solid mastery of combined arms tactics, and it really paid off in areas where they could employ their armor.

Display Relevant AFV Rules

AFV Rules Pertaining to this Scenario's Order of Battle

Vulnerable to results on the Assault Combat Chart (7.25, 7.63, ACC), and may be attacked by Anti-Tank fire (11.2, DFT). Anti-Tank fire only affects the individual unit fired upon (7.62, 11.0).

AFV's are activated by tank leaders (3.2, 3.3, 5.42, 6.8).
They may also be activated as part of an initial activating stack, but if activated in this way would need a tank
leader in order to carry out combat movement.

Full-strength AFV's with "armor efficiency" may make two anti-tank (AT) fire attacks per turn
(either in their action segment or during opportunity fire) if they have AT fire values of 0 or more
(11.2).

Each unit with an AT fire value of 2 or more may fire at targets at a distance of between 100% and 150% of its
printed AT range. It does so at half its AT fire value. (11.3)

Efficient and non-efficient AFV's may conduct two opportunity fires per turn if using direct fire
(7.44, 7.64).
Units with both Direct and AT Fire values may use either type of fire in the same turn as their opportunity fire,
but not both (7.22, 13.0).
Units which can take opportunity fire twice per turn do not have to target the same unit both times (13.0).

Demoralized AFV's are not required to flee from units that do not have AT fire values (14.3).

Place a Wreck marker when an AFV is eliminated in a bridge or town hex (16.3).

Closed-top AFV's: Immune to M, M1 and M2 results on Direct and Bombardment Fire Tables. Do not take step losses from Direct or Bombardment Fire. If X or #X result on Fire Table, make M morale check instead (7.25, 7.41, 7.61, BT, DFT).

Closed-top AFV's: Provide the +1 modifier on the Assault Table when combined with infantry. (Modifier only applies to Germans in all scenarios; Soviet Guards in scenarios taking place after 1942; Polish, US and Commonwealth in scenarios taking place after 1943.) (ACC)

Tank: all are closed-top and provide the +1 Assault bonus, when applicable

Display Order of Battle

Japan Order of Battle

Imperial Japanese Army

Foot

Leader

Towed

United States Order of Battle

Marine Corps

Foot

Leader

Mechanized

Display Errata (1)

1 Errata Item

The 8-3 Marine Infantry counter appears in most of the Saipan 1944 and Marianas 1944 scenarios, replacing the 10-3 DF valued Marine counters for those scenarios and is currently published in the most recent Saipan printing.

This 30-turn scenario has a company of Marines trying to take 3 entrenchments against a Japanese force little more than double their size, which really isn't that large a force when they are dispersed over a wide area trying to slow down and stop that Marine force. But in turn 5, the Marines bring in 3 tanks, including one of the Satan flame throwing Stuarts, plus an engineer and engineer flame unit with their own LTs. The Japanese infantry and an 81mm mortar must start on the western board and the entrenchments, a 45mm AT gun, a 70mm gun and an HMG must start on the eastern board, with entrenchments on east-west road hexes. I set up Japanese outposts with a full platoon and a reduced platoon or an HMG and a reduced infantry platoon in the northern and southern towns and in jungle hexes in the center so that just about any move made by the Marines would have to either go way out of the way to north or south or get close enough to risk an assault. The Marine major, an LT and the SGT took infantry and an HMG along the northern edge to avoid any of these outposts, and the Marine SGT split off from them to provide a spotter for the OBA, while on the southern half, the Marine CPT and LT brought up the rest of the infantry and the 60mm mortar, while another LT took up position on the southern hill where he could also spot for OBA. The LT in the south started the OBA fire on turn 2 at the Japanese in the southern town to pin them and hopefully soften them up for a few turns while waiting for the Marine armor and engineers to join them while the Major leads his merry band slowly along the north. The attempts to pin down the southern group of Japanese works well and the first Japanese steps are lost to OBA, the surviving Japanese moving back to the northernmost hex of the southern town to get out of spotting range. Continued OBA and direct fire demoralize the Japanese in that town until a combined arms force with the engineer, flame and Satan tanks can assault and easily take the town, leaving one surviving Japanese LT to hang out in the jungle and provide a spotter for the Japanese OBA. The Marines need to avoid losing 4 steps to win in addition to taking the 3 entrenchments, so even with 30 turns, they can't dawdle. The Japanese OBA slows down a stack with the Captain by disrupting 2 of the 3 infantry platoons in his stack, but other leaders move their stacks around the Captain and continue to move east, chasing the Japanese LT for several turns before they finally catch up to him and the Japanese have no spotter for their OBA for a few turns. The combination of tanks and engineers go on to beat severely one of the stacks of Japanese infantry in a jungle hex, forcing them to try to regain their morale but in several turns of direct fire and OBA, the second stack of Japanese troops is eliminated. The Japanese have now lost their initiative numbers and are trying to fall back to the entrenchments as the Marines continue to move east. Marines take the first westernmost entrenchment easily with the combination of flame and engineers again, but moving on to the southern entrenchment just down the road they run into trouble and the Satan takes a step loss. It's then that I discover I've had the reduced side up and using that reduced firepower all this time, not that it would have made that big a difference to previous assaults, but in this one, it might have made some difference. Marine armor and engineers spend the next turn regrouping and regaining their morale, while the Japanese to the north succeed in getting to their entrenchment along the road near the top of the larger hill mass and the Marines move adjacent in the jungle to try to reduce the Japanese strength by direct fire. Marine armor redeploys north along the road network trying to get some support to those guys in the northeast while the Marine Captain brings more troops to the south of that Japanese entrenchment, the regrouped Marines in the southern entrenchment now getting the rolls to finish off the Japanese 70mm gun and LT in that hex. In turn 25, the Marines have finally eliminated all but the Japanese SGT in the northern entrenchment and proceed to chase him for two turns while he calls in OBA with little more than harassing fire until the Marines catch and eliminate him. US win with just enough loss to keep them humble. And I am reminded to check my counters when setting up the game.